Saturday, January 17, 2015

Brewery debuts 'Barn Rocker' beer for Islanders' last season at Nassau Coliseum

A Long Island-based brewery has partnered with Nassau Coliseum to offer a barley and hops tribute to the New York Islanders' last season inside the soon-to-be-vacated cement slab out in Hempstead.

“Barn Rocker” ale made its debut during Friday night's game against the Penguins. The beer's name commemorates the team’s final season at its current venue — known as "The Old Barn."

Oyster Bay Brewing Co. co-owners, Gabe Haim and Ryan Schlotter, who are fans of both the Islanders and beer, created the brew as a way to "do something special" for the final season at the 42-year-old Coliseum, where "Rock the Barn" has been a rallying cry. It debuted at the brewery earlier this month and was poured during a viewing party there for Tuesday's Islanders-Rangers game.

Haim said it was "created and brewed especially for the purpose of pouring it at a sports event . . . It's very light, really easy to drink, but with a lot of flavor. You can sit there and have a bunch of them."

OBB is not an official partner of the team, which means the keg will probably be dry when the Islanders move to the Barclays Center next season.

Not to worry beer guzzlers. It won't be hard finding another craft brew in Hipsterville, Brooklyn.